Scotland’s cereal harvest is expected to rise 12 per cent on what was a poor performance last year and despite less favourable conditions in September, new official figures suggest.

The 2017 cereal harvest is expected to produce 3.1 million tonnes this year, including 1.9 million tonnes of barley and one million tonnes of wheat, and “almost fully recovering from last year’s poor results”.

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The dry start to the 2017 growing season in April came as spring sowings were already well established and “moisture came at the right time to encourage growth”.

However moisture content at harvest this year was “high”, meaning drying costs will have “increased considerably” this year.

Figures released in December from a survey of more that 600 cereal farms, had shown Scotland's cereal harvest fell 11 per cent in 2016 to 2.8 million tonnes after yields fell eight per cent.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Statistician's release of the first estimates for the 2017 harvest forecasts a cereal yield increase of 11 per cent, averaging a “record” 7.1 tonnes per hectare; ranging from 6.2 tonnes per hectare for spring barley to 9.0 tonnes for wheat.

Overall yields averaged around 6.4 tonnes per hectare last year; ranging from 5.4 tonnes per hectare for spring barley to 8.4 tonnes per hectare for wheat.

Spring barley, Scotland’s most important cereal crop, is expected to increase 16 per cent this year to 1.5 million tonnes, though still lower than was reported between 2013 to 2015, though yield is expected to hit a “record” high of “about 6.2 tonnes per hectare”.

Spring barley was reported to have fallen to 15 per cent to 1.30 million tonnes last year – the lowest yield since 1997.

Oats are reported to have grown for the third consecutive year this year, and with “record yields” for the second year, expected to top 215,000 tonnes for the first time since the 1970s.

Oilseed rape is also expected to rebound from “particularly poor” 2016 figures, when the yield totalled 102,000 tonnes. lowest booked since records began in 1992 and averaging around 3.3 tonnes per hectare.